Registration data reported by Automotive News shows that a total of 489,454 new EVs were sold by Tesla in the January-September period, giving it a massive 57.4% share of the market. In second place was Chevrolet with 50,160 registrations (5.9%), Ford with 46,547 sales (5.5%), and Hyundai in fourth place with 40,612 sales (4.8%). However, Hyundai's total rises to 63,916 (7.5%) if you include the Kia brand, which sold 23,304 EVs in the U.S. in the first nine months of this year.
The Hyundai Motor Group's sales may not be staggering, but they do show that demand for its portfolio of EVs remains strong, even though they do not receive the EV tax credit, meaning many of them are more expensive than locally built rivals from the likes of Tesla and Chevrolet. The only way buyers can get the $7,500 tax credit is if they lease a new Hyundai or Kia EV, and leasing isn't something that appeals to all car buyers.
Since last year, South Korean automakers have expressed concern about their ineligibility for the tax credit. The nation has called the rules of the Inflation Reduction Act "discriminatory" and has urged the U.S. government to grant it tax credits, even though its current EVs are not manufactured in the United States.
While it remains unclear whether the Biden administration will make such a concession, Hyundai Motor Group is hard at work building a massive $5.5 billion plant in Georgia that will build EVs under the Hyundai, Kia, and Genesis brands. Construction on the site began last October, and when it is up and running, it will have an annual capacity of 300,000 vehicles. Commercial production is scheduled to begin in the first half of 2025.
Source: Automotive News
